Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
For nearly 160 years, the Gorham Manufacturing Company turned out a wide range of beautiful silver flatware, tea sets, serving bowls and other silver pieces, indelibly influencing the field of decorative arts in ways that still resonate.
When silversmiths Jabez Gorham and Henry Webster started making coin silver teaspoons and jewelry out of a small workshop in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1831, the pair likely had no idea that their modest operation would one day become the largest silver manufacturer in the world.
While some name changes and personnel shifts preceded the foundry officially being established as Gorham Manufacturing Company decades later, growth of the business between its early days and the mid–19th century can largely be attributed to the work of Jabez’s son John, who assumed control of Gorham in the 1840s.
John Gorham introduced steam power at the manufactory. He entered into a partnership with Michael Gibney, the first American silversmith to register a design patent for a flatware pattern. Gorham wanted to expand the business, seeking to produce forks and spoons adorned with decorative flourishes adapted from British patterns. The company hammered out the silver flatware, which it sent to Gibney in New York to apply decorative patterns before returning to Gorham. Consequently, Gorham found Gibney’s work unsatisfactory, and he purchased his own rolling press to do the work himself.
The partnership between John and Michael soured but the company thrived. Sales grew to more than $20,000 per year, and the staff of silversmiths expanded. To keep up with demand, Gorham had to retire its horse-powered rolling press and import a steam-powered drop press from England — the first used in the United States. Designs created at Gorham drew on natural-world motifs as well as artistic traditions from all over the world — alongside its tableware, the company would soon be producing cups and pitchers adorned with polar bears and forest creatures, while tea services and other serving pieces were crafted in a range of styles that included Art Nouveau, Egyptian Revival and Rococo.
Around 1860, Gorham delved into bronze casting. When it opened a division dedicated to bronze work, Gorham collaborated with sculptors such as Daniel Chester French, Anna Hyatt Huntington and Alexander P. Proctor.
By the 1920s, Gorham had employed thousands of workers and had partnered with Danish modernist silversmith Erik Magnussen. However, the Great Depression ground production to a halt. The company was sold to Textron, Inc. in the late 1960s and it changed hands several times before it sold to Department 56 in 2005.
Today, the work of Gorham Manufacturing Company continues to be exhibited in galleries and museums. The RISD Museum in Providence houses a collection of nearly 5,000 works.
On 1stDibs, find a range of antique Gorham Manufacturing Company serveware and decorative objects.
Early 20th Century American Federal Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Sterling Silver
1890s American Art Nouveau Antique Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Silver
Mid-20th Century American Colonial Revival Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century American Edwardian Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Sterling Silver
1890s American Victorian Antique Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Sterling Silver
1880s American Aesthetic Movement Antique Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Sterling Silver
Late 20th Century Edwardian Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Crystal
1890s American Victorian Antique Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century American Art Nouveau Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Crystal, Sterling Silver
1890s American Victorian Antique Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Sterling Silver
Early 1900s American Edwardian Antique Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Sterling Silver
1890s North American Edwardian Antique Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Crystal, Sterling Silver
19th Century American Regency Antique Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Sterling Silver
1890s American Victorian Antique Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century American Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Crystal, Silver
1890s American Antique Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century American Other Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Copper, Brass, Silver Plate
Early 20th Century American Art Deco Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Silver, Chrome
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Sterling Silver
1950s French Modern Vintage Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Chrome
1870s British Victorian Antique Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century English Arts and Crafts Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Silver, Sterling Silver
1960s English Modern Vintage Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Silver Plate
1930s American Art Deco Vintage Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century French Art Nouveau Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Metal, Silver Plate
Mid-20th Century European Art Deco Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Silver Plate
Mid-20th Century American Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Glass
20th Century European Art Deco Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Glass
1890s French Antique Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Cut Glass
1920s American Vintage Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Silver Plate, Brass, Copper
Late 20th Century Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century Art Deco Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Sterling Silver, Enamel
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Sterling Silver
1890s American Victorian Antique Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Sterling Silver
Late 19th Century American Aesthetic Movement Antique Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Sterling Silver
1890s American Victorian Antique Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century American Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Silver Plate, Brass
Early 20th Century American Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Silver Plate, Brass
Mid-20th Century American Colonial Revival Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Gorham Manufacturing Company Barware
Silver Plate